THEY used to be names that we Italophiles whispered to each other in the dark like the passwords of a secret cult: "Carnaroli," "Vialone Nano," "\o7Superfino\f7!" While other risotto-loving Americans were satisfied with arborio, which almost anyone could get at a good gourmet store, we prided ourselves on our hoarded supplies of the real stuff, the secret rices of Italy.
We could be pretty danged smug about it too. If a friend was going to Italy, we might beg them to bring us "a few" boxes, knowing full well that each weighed a standard 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds. Sometimes I think we asked as much to demonstrate our superior knowledge as to actually get the rice. Such is the intoxicating lure of caring passionately about things that few others do.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday March 28, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
Risotto recipes: The three recipes that ran in Wednesday's Food section with an article about risotto called for chicken stock, but, as was mentioned in the piece, lighter-bodied chicken broth should be used.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday March 29, 2006 Home Edition Food Part F Page 3 Features Desk 0 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction
Risotto recipes -- The three risotto recipes that ran in last week's Food section call for chicken stock, but, as was mentioned in the accompanying article, lighter-bodied chicken broth should be used.
So you can imagine how I felt when I walked into my local fancy grocery the other day and found, sitting prettily on the shelf, a box of Vialone Nano. At first I was aghast: the secret rice of Venice offered to uninitiated members of the public as if it were nothing more than Uncle Ben's?
But then I started thinking about how long it had been since I had made risotto, and wondering whether it was time for a personal revival.
There couldn't be a better time of year than now to rediscover risotto. One of the ironies of the dish is that although it is so marvelously complex in flavor that you might believe all of the fuss about how difficult it is to prepare, risotto is essentially extremely simple: rice, main ingredient and broth. Add a flavoring base to start out, a little wine in the middle, and some butter and cheese to finish and you've just about covered every possibility.
Because of this simplicity, risotto is the perfect vehicle for the flavors of spring, which are by nature more delicate than the rowdy tomatoes and peppers we'll be enjoying in just another couple of months. Artichokes, asparagus, peas and wild mushrooms -- there are at least half a dozen risotto combinations from just that list of ingredients.
But risotto's simplicity also makes demands. You have to use the right rice -- arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano are the ones most available in the U.S. -- to get the distinctive creaminess of the dish.
Each of the trio has its fans -- even its fanatics. But while there are certainly differences among them, don't let not finding that one special rice scare you away from making risotto. The three can be used interchangeably with fairly similar results.
